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Society is Too Dependent on SSRIs

Rachel Goldman & Kyle Kauffman

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Disclaimer

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Science

• The depressed brain has a smaller prefrontal cortex (Richter, 2012).

• Helps scientists and medical personal to comprehend what depression is caused by and how it affects the brain (Richter, 2012).

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Technology

• Learn effective ways for treating the brain and the prefrontal cortex which controls the people’s emotions (Diaz, 2011)

• Will help lead to more improved treatments for depression and improve the quality of SSRIs (Gawley, 2007).

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History• 387 B.C. Plato had a theory that the brain is

the main mechanism of mental processes. (“All Psych”, 2003)

• Late 1960’s MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors), which were prescribed for depression, were taken off shelves due to major side effects, such as suicide. (Glenmullen, 2000)

• 1969 Zelmid by Astra. (Timeline, 2012)

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SSRI

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI)

o Can improve not only depression but anxiety and other mental illnesses (WebMD, 2012).

o SSRIs are known for improving mood and behaviors of individuals that are struggling with depression. (WebMD, 2012)

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Depression

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Depression: In Numbers

• Over 18 million office visits a year• Over 100 million prescriptions a

year• On the economic wallet

– ONLY $44 billion a year!• “Clinical paradox”

– Only 1 out of 3 patients are accurately diagnosed

(Vrana, 2006)

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Video

How SSRIs Work

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SIDE EFFECTS

The side effects are different for each individual and are extremely lethal (WebMD, 2012).

– Physical symptoms

– Sexual effects

– The most lethal of all, suicide. (Harvard Health, 2005).

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Other Treatments

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THERAPIES

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Placebo

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“The Placebo Effect” Studies

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Government

• Is the base of how SSRIs are prescribed and why they tend to be overly prescribed (NCHS, 2011).

• The government had done a study to see which drug was the most prescribed in the United States, antidepressant was number one (NCHS, 2011).

“Prozac has internal documents, some dating to the mid-1980’s, as well as government applications and patents, indicate that the pharmaceutical giant has known for years that its best-selling drug (Prozac) could cause suicidal reactions in a small but significant number of patients” (Garnett, 2000).

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Insurance

• Depression costs the US economy more than US$ 43 billion annually. (World Health Organization, 2007).

• For having insurance, therapy can be as little as $25 for one session, for antidepressants it can be as little as $5, but it all depends on the insurance company the individual has (ADAA, 2012).

• Therapy can cost $100 or more per hour, on the other hand antidepressants can cost around $50. (ADAA, 2012).

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Lawsuit – Black Box• Under Pennsylvania law, a

husband has sued manufacturers, designers, and distributors of antidepressant medication due to the death of his wife (Reuters, 2012).

• She had committed suicide and there was allegedly no warning for suicidal thoughts, which goes against the black-box label that is supposed to be on every antidepressant (Reuters, 2012).

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Lawsuit- Zoloft

“What if a person who is depressed eats a piece of pizza and gets an upset stomach, because it’s greasy and the individual out of nowhere says, that’s the last straw. I am committing suicide! Could the pizza be held responsible?” –Pfizer (Yeoman, 2007)

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Lawsuit- Pregnancy• According to Domar, “cognitive behavioral therapy is just as effective

and safer during pregnancy” (Weintraub, 2012)• Studies show that antidepressants used during pregnancy are linked

to:– Miscarriage– Preterm birth– Rare heart defects and;– Behavioral problems(Weintraub, 2012)

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Future Implications

Work Cited

• Antidepressants: Myths and facts about ssris. ( 2012). Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/depression/ssris-myths-and-facts-about-antidepressants

• Anxiety disorders association of america. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.adaa.org/finding-help/treatment/low-cost-treatment

• Bate , R., &Calfee , J. World Health Organization, (2004). Pharmaceutical and the worldwide hivepidemic: can a stakeholder model work? Retrieved from Joint Center website:http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/news/en/Submission-Calfee.pdf

• Berger, F. K., & Zieve, D. (2011, March 15). Major depression. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001941/ (Berger & Zieve, 2011)

• Brennan, B. (2008, April 16). What are the side effects associated with antidepressant treatment for anxiety disorder, and are there long-term risks?. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AnxietyTreating/story?id=4665296

• Crockett MJ et al. Serotonin selectively influences moral judgment and behavior through effects on harm aversion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010 Oct 5; 107:17433.

• Currie , J. (2005, May ). The marketization of depression: Prescribing ssri antidepressants to women*. Retrieved from http://psychrights.org/articles/ssris.pdf

• Depression diagnosis, depression disorder, treatment of depression. (2007, January 24). Retrieved from http://www.searo.who.int/en/section1174/section1199

• Diaz, S., Doly, S., Narboux-Nême,, N., Fernandez, S., Mazot, P., Banas, S., Boutourlinsky, K., &Moutkine, I. (2011). 5-ht2b receptors are required for serotonin-selective antidepressant actions. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 17(2), 154–163. . Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles

• Dietz, L. (2012, August). Wrongful death. Retrieved from http://campus.westlaw.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/result/default.wl?cfid=1&mt=CampusLaw

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Work Cited Continued• Mao, K. (2012, May 28). Anti-depressants (the religion of ssri) . Retrieved from

http://churchofpossibility.com/2012/05/28/anti-depressants-the-religion-of-ssri/• Medicinenet.com . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/psychotherapy/article.htm • NIMH. (2011, July 27). www.nimh.nih.gov. Retrieved from

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression/what-is-depression.shtml • Putting Science in the Dock Barry Yeoman

2007 https://www.paxilprogress.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25859• Richter, R. (2012, Spring). Special report: Positive charge; new technology to treat depression. Retrieved

from http://stanmed.stanford.edu/2012spring/article2.html• Silver, J. (2010, November). Can ssris affect morality?. Retrieved from

http://psychiatry.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/2010/1108/2• Ssri side effects: Harvard mental health letter discusses the real risks of antidepressants. (2005, May).

Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/ssri_side_effects ("Ssri side effects:," 2005)• Wade , A., Johnson , P., & McConnachie , A. (26, November 2010). Antidepressant treatment and cultural

differences - a survey of the attitudes of physicians and patients in sweden and turkey. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2296/11/93

• Yeoman , B. (2004). Putting science in the dock. Retrieved from https://www.paxilprogress.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25859